Shan Cawley
is a Rise Pennsylvania fellow, a graduate of West Virginia University and a current second-year grad student at the University of Pittsburgh, where she studies higher education. Shan is passionate not only about an affordable college experience, but also cares about the tribulations first-generation, low-income students face as they move through higher education institutions. During her undergrad, Shan gave a TED Talk, published two books, spoke on the Supreme Court steps during the Brett Kavanaugh trials, and organized around sexual assault prevention on WVU’s campus. When Shan isn’t registering students to vote and lobbying for free college, she is working the closing shift at Trader Joe’s, interning for the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project to promote youth literacy, and applying for PhD programs.
